WebMD Corp. said it has acquired the health information Internet portals of MedicaLogic/Medscape Inc., as well as the Medscape brand, the companies said.
Under the terms of the deal, WebMD, an online health care services company in Elmwood Park, N.J., will pay Hillsboro, Ore.-based MedicaLogic/Medscape $10 million in cash.
Medscape's Medical Professional portal will become WebMD's online brand of information, research and educational services for physicians and allied medical professionals. WebMD Health will continue as the company's source of online information, community and services for consumers.
In a statement, WebMD said the acquisition of the Medscape assets will allow its health network to reach more than 15 million cumulative visitors per month, including approximately 575,000 physicians worldwide.
"This acquisition is a great opportunity to further strengthen our product offering for physicians and is in keeping with our goal of creating the leading communication channels connecting physicians and their patients with health plans, providers and suppliers," said Martin J. Wygod, chairman and CEO of WebMD, in the statement.
Wygod added that the company expects to incur costs related to combining the two operations that could affect WebMD's financial results by $1 million to $2 million for each of the next two quarters.
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